About Me

I am a Roman Catholic priest of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. Known as the Redemptorists, the order was founded by Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, to preach the Gospel to the poor and most abandoned.
St. Alphonsus was one of the greatest moral theologians in the Church. He is also known as the Doctor of Prayer. It is to him that this blog is dedicated with filial love and devotion.

Where Are You From?

Site Meter

Saturday, May 30, 2009

The Thirtieth Day of May

Mary’s Triumph.

I.

On the day of her glorious assumption, body and soul, into heaven, Mary received the crown of all her graces. Truly, we may rejoice. We shall not lose our Mother. We only send her before us, to prepare our plans and to acquire for us rights over the heart of God. We can truly say to him: "Our misery is great. Yes, this earth is but a desolate valley, but it sends Thee what it has most beautiful, a marvel that it could not be expected to produce, Mary, Thy Mother! Look upon us with eyes of mercy for the sake of that blessed flower of our garden which we offer Thee. It is the purest and the most beautiful."

But Mary’s triumph is, also, that of Jesus. He will find again His Mother, He will again become a Son by her presence. Jesus loved His Mother so much—how, then, could He separate from her? He did it only through love of us. Having given her to us for Mother, it was right that He should allow us to enjoy the inestimable gift. But the time was come to recall that gift, and Jesus comes Himself to seek His Mother: Innixa super dilectum suum.—Mary died of love. The longing to see her Son, and to be fully united to Him, snapped her thread of life. Jesus is about to accord her a grand triumph. O what passed between Jesus and Mary at the moment of their meeting! We know the joy of a mother and a son meeting after a long separation. Jesus desired to see His Mother again, and, lo! she stands before Him! with what loving embraces He welcomes her!

II.

Jesus introduces her Himself into glory, for He owes her a reward. All her life Mary was poor and despised, but now the time has come to crown her with glory and honor. She enters heaven in splendor, such as was never before seen. She enters by a special gate, open for her alone. She could not pass through that of the simple elect. If the twelve Apostles are the twelve gates of heaven, Mary is the royal entrance to that country, the gate par excellence. O august and holy Gate! How good to pass through thee! Doubtless, the observance of the Law will give us sure entrance into heaven, but it is better still to confide one’s self to Mary’s compassion. Mary seeks only to save. Pass, pass by the way of mercy, and count not so much on your works and your fulfilment of the Law. Examine well, and you will find that fulfilment very imperfect.

Jesus led His Mother by the hand up to the throne of God. "Behold, O Father, her with whom Thou art associated, by choosing her to give Me My Humanity!" And the Father crowned her with her three most beautiful titles, Queen, Mother, Mediatrix. In Mary’s diadem, three pearls are shining with dazzling bright ness, namely, that of her humility, that of her poverty, and that of her sufferings.

III.

Mary was the most humble of creatures; in heaven, she is the most glorious. If she is seated on a throne the nearest to Jesus Christ, it is because she approaches nearer than any other to the perfection of His humility. She passed for a sinful daughter of Eve, she who did not undergo the shame of original sin. She followed her Son. The Jews regarded her as an ambitious woman—she who had never said one word to her own advantage.

No one was so poor as Mary, and never was poverty so meritorious as hers, for she was the Mother of the King of heaven and of earth. To imitate the poverty of Jesus, she labored at Nazareth, begged in Egypt, and what could be poorer than the lowly house of Loreto? The justice of Our Lord owed her a compensation. As she shares all the merits, all the graces of her Son, she has the free disposal of them. All graces of salvation, both natural and spiritual, will be given us by Mary. She is rich with the riches of God Himself. And if Divine Justice did not oppose the inclination of her maternal heart, the gates of hell would soon be closed. The demon has been forced to acknowledge that he is never sure of a victory so long as he whom Mary protects, retains a breath of life. She supplicates, importunes, and, as it were, snatches from God the graces of mercy and pardon for the most hardened criminals.

Lastly, if happiness is in proportion to sufferings, no one in heaven is so happy as Mary; for having never loved so much as she, no one has ever suffered so much. Mary was tried by God. He martyred her constantly. Simeon s prophecy em poisoned all her joys. From the moment of its utterance, Mary took the place of Jesus, still too young to suffer publicly. At the foot of the Cross she is nearest to Jesus that she may suffer more. Because He wished her nearest to Him in heaven, He united her more than any other creature to His sufferings and humiliations on earth.

God has, in one word, crowned Mary with glory and honor as the masterpiece of His love. Above her there is only Himself: Solo tonante minor! But in the midst of her glory, Mary remembers that she is our Mother. She ascended to heaven before us only to facilitate our entrance, and to conduct us there. She herself will come to seek us at the supreme moment, and she will lead us by the hand, if we have known how to call her to our assistance.

Practice: Prepare the agonizing to receive Holy Viaticum. Notify the priest in time. Arrange for Our Lord a proper reception in the homes of the poor.

Aspiration: O Mary, give us Jesus Christ now and at the hour of our death!